


All Things Good and Godly

by Hippua



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Desert, Eventual Romance, M/M, Minor Character Death, Non-Chronological, The Enchanted Forest
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-26
Updated: 2018-08-17
Packaged: 2019-02-07 05:49:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12834636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hippua/pseuds/Hippua
Summary: Why wouldn't you want a gods blessing my intrepid heroes. However, be warned, sometimes it's a mixed blessing.





	1. Desert Boy

Hajime lives in the slums of The Grand City, the capital of the Widelands that encompasses most of the world.

Hajime lives with his only known relative, his mother, Anaya, who works as a prostitute. Even at the tender age of 11, Hajime already knows what his mother does to keep them alive. His mother's job brings in enough money for them to eat on most days, which he knew was a lot better than most of the people he lived around. He knew of his mother’s strife, and every day Hajime still yearned to do something to help his mother. Sadly, no one would ever hire an 11-year-old boy from the slums.

Anaya was one of the fortunate ones in the slums; she was protected by one of the low-life pimps who control the winding slums. Back in those days, a prostitute was lucky to have any form of protection. However, that still didn’t stop him from cowering in fear every time that man came over to check on his mother.

It always had made Hajime uncomfortable to see his mother's boss. The boss was extremely tall, he had cold mean eyes and liked to shout a lot. Over time, Hajime became more and more worried about his mother's safety.

He waited for his time to come knowing that as he stared up at the stars at night one day he was going to be destined for greatness and it was only a matter of time. Little did he know that his climb to the top would come so fast and who would help him get there. 

The morning when it all started Hajime decided to stay inside of the small home that he and his mother share. The word home is being used lightly of course. The four walls are a light brown and they're also starting to crumble and the roof, well, there is almost no roof left.

The home is sparsely decorated: there is a bed in the corner of the room, and there are a few pillows and blankets on the bed. There is also a locked box with all of their food in it. In the center of the small house, there is a small rug with a few books on it.

When Anaya's boss walked in Hajime could tell that something was wrong.

“Boy, where is your whore of a mother?” the intimidating man asks

“She is out getting food sir,” Hajime responds trying not to sound too scared of the older man.

“Bring your mother back here. I have some important things I need to talk to her about.”

With that, Hajime ran out of the house to find his mother.

The market is always filled with a wide variety of people. Some people believe that they have seen Shinji Watari, the god of markets, at this very market. Hajime says that anyone who believes in the gods is crazy and that everyone who prays to them is only praying to stone, not a god. 

Within the market, people are trying to sell everything imaginable. There are people selling cloth of every color out there and some people are selling fish and other foods. The market as always is overcrowded, so much so that it was difficult to move around to find Anaya. No matter which way he stepped, he always is touching someone else.

“Mother! Mother! Anaya!” Hajime yells in the middle of the market hoping that his mother will be able to hear him.

With all the people in the market, Hajime doubts that anyone could hear him. He even suspects that the people next to him couldn’t hear him.

“Anaya! Anaya! MOTHER!” Hajime continues to yell.

Hajime kept moving with the crowd hoping that he will end up where his mother is. 

Eventually, after several minutes of yelling for his mother, he found her. 

“Mother, mother!” Hajime pants

“What is it Hajime?” Anaya's calm voice questioned while she looked down at her son. 

“Your boss is at the house.” 

“Oh,” Anaya's voice drops “Okay, let's get back home then.”

With that Hajime and his mother make their way through the crowded market maneuvering their way through the stream of people. 

As soon as they get out of the market, Anaya and Hajime runs towards their small home, knowing that the longer it takes them to get home the more upset Anaya’s boss will be. Hajime remembers one time when mother's boss was pissed. In the end, they barely had enough food for the month, and Anaya was left incredibly hurt and sometimes even now, two years later, the injuries still impact her ability to walk.

“What are you doing here?” Mother asks as soon as she enters the house. The one room house gets cramped with just Hajime and Anaya, but with Anaya’s boss, the small house feels suffocating. Not just because there is barely any room to move, but also because the boss' presence is enough to make Hajime want to run away and hide.

“Am I not allowed to visit my favorite worker? The one who brings in the most money? The one who enjoys their work? The real whore.” The boss says while walking around to get behind Anaya and block the only way out of the small house.

The large man starts to grab at Anaya's clothing, clearly not seeing or caring that the woman is upset. He starts to grab at Anaya's chest and crotch, and as he does this Anaya tries to move away, but her boss is much stronger than her.

“Please stop. Please don't do this in front of Hajime,” Anaya begs to try to keep some sense of dignity in front her son. 

“Why not? He knows what you do. Why not let him watch for once. I bet he would get off by it.”

“No! Please No!” Anaya begs and cries, but her boss just continues with no care for how unwilling his partner is.

“You owe me for your protection, so this is just you paying me back,” The boss growls at Anaya.

Anaya continues to beg. “But please don’t get Hajime involved! He has nothing to do with this!”

Finally coming to his senses, Hajime realizes that if he does not stop the monster, his mother would be hurt. “Stop! Stop! Don't touch her anymore! Can’t you tell that she doesn’t want this!”

“Shut up little kid. This is all that women want. They want nothing else but sex! Why do you think your whore of a mother became a prostitute! Because she couldn’t get any other job?! No that's wrong! She became a slut because she liked sex! She liked it so much she sold her life to it.”

“Stop lying you old fat pig! That is not my mother!” 

Hajime, noticing that his mother’s boss didn’t even slow down, looked around the small house to find something to stop the man with.

Looking at a rug, Hajime notices one of his favorite books lying on the ground. The book is over 600 pages and weighs a lot. Hajime still has no clue how his mother was able to get her hands on such a big book, and he doesn’t want to know what she had to do.

“I told you to stop!” Hajime screams hitting the man in the head with the large book, distracting the intimidating man from Hajime's mother.

“What are you going to do to make me stop? Hit me in the head again?” The man scoffs looking back at Anaya with lust filled eyes.

“No, I challenge you to a fight!” Hajime says standing up straight even though deep down he would rather curl up and never look at the other man ever again. 

“Haha, funny joke kid.”

Hajime shakes his head “I am serious. If I win, you will leave my mother and me alone.”

“Hajime please don’t do this. It's okay, you don’t need to fight for me,” Ayana's weak voice cries out from behind her boss.

Hajime ignores his mother's pleas and continues “You will also give us all of your land, money, and animals. The fight will happen tomorrow at sunrise in the pit.”

“And when I win, what do I get out of this?”

“You get to keep mother and you can do whatever you want with me.”

“Anything? So when I win, I will be able to do whatever I want to do to your body? Could I sell that, same as I do your mother's? I could take you apart and sell your parts at the market?” On the boss's face, a Cheshire smile appears.

“You will be able to do whatever you want to do to my body.”

With that, the boss stalks out of the small house. With him gone Hajime finally feels like he has room to breathe.

“Son how could you be so stupid!” Anaya reprimands 

“I need to do this so he will finally leave you alone. You will have your freedom.”

“And what if you lose?”

“Then I will uphold my part of the deal.”

“If you do plan on winning you should go and pray to Oikawa.”

“Mother, you know that I don’t believe in the gods,” Hajime whines looking up at his mother hoping that she would change her mind.

Anaya does not back down and says “I know son, but please do this for me and pray for victory.” 

“Okay, okay. I will, but only for you mother.”

As Hajime starts to walk out of the house his mother says “Wait don’t forget to bring a gift to the gods.”

Hajime pauses at the doorway and looks around the small hut to see if there is anything worthy of giving to the God of Victory, Oikawa.

‘I could give him food, but I bet he gets food offerings a lot. I don’t own any precious metals to give the false god either, and if I did, I wouldn’t want to waste it on an imaginary god.’ Hajime thinks to himself.

Anaya, seeing that Hajime does not know what to give to the gods, picks up the book that he hit the boss with. It is Hajime's favorite book, which is a collection of stories about the kings of the widelands and what they did to become king.

Unlike in other lands, the Widelands kings are chosen by the last king. First, the current king holds a grand festival where potential Kings fight. Then the men who are left need to pass a reading test. It might sound weird, but any good ruler should be able to read both what their friends and enemies write. Finally, the current king chooses who will become his successor. The successor trains under the king until the king dies. A female king is uncommon but not unheard of.

The walk to the temple isn’t that far away. With the blazing sun overhead and the hot sand under Hajime's feet, he walks to the extravagant building.

He sees the bright white pillars reaching up into the sky with gold accenting everything. The temple is truly a masterpiece.

Causly Hajime walks up to the altar in the middle of the temple.

‘I am so glad that there’s a roof to this building or my feet would probably burn right off.’ Hajime thinks to himself.

The temple is half filled with people praying. All of the other people praying are rich, and it shows in their gifts. One man has four bottles of something, probably wine. The bottles are covered in gold and blue stones. There is enough on one bottle that looking at it directly in the desert’s bright sun would be enough to blind anyone.

Most people who have enough money to spare gifts to the gods look down on the people from the slums. Sometimes the richer folks ignore Hajime and other times they harass him with their words. Fortunately, they would never touch a person from the slums because they believe that the slums are full of disease (which is true).

All the rich people in the temple look at Hajime in disgust, as if him being here will make their prayers do the opposite of their original intent.

Hajime sits down at the feet of the statue of the God Oikawa, the God of Victory. “I know that this isn’t a lot and all, but God of Victory Oikawa, please accept my offering. It is one of my most treasured possessions. Please grant me victory in my upcoming fight,” Hajime says placing the book down.

“What’cha praying for?” A boy who looks to be around Hajime's age asks.

“Where did you come from?!”

“I saw you were praying, and I wanted to know what you were praying for.” The strange boy looks directly at Hajime. The boy is clearly from a higher class, evident from his clean clothes and that he looks like he has never missed a meal in his life. The boy has pale skin as if he spends most of his time inside and away from the sun. This boy is the polar opposite of Hajime.

“Victory,” Hajime replies with little emotion.

“Obviously! Why else would you be at the God of Victory’s temple!”

Hajime, not trusting the boy, stands up in an attempt to tell the kid that their conversation is over. “I don’t need to tell you anything.”

“Aw, come on what bad could telling me do?” The boy either does not understand body language or is insistent on annoying Hajime. Hajime doesn’t know which is worse.

“I don’t know. Maybe my opponent will win instead.” Hajime fumes. 

Thinking that the conversation was done, Hajime started to move away from the strange boy.

“Wait! At least tell me where this fight will be! I want to be there so I can cheer you on!”

Hajime was taken aback by what the boy said but told him where and when the fight was. With that, Hajime walked away back to his house, the hot sun beating down on his back.

‘This is it. I will win.’ Hajime thinks to himself.

 

 

 

 

 

The next morning, before the sun has even risen into the sky, Hajime is on his way to the fight.

A lot of the people in the slums overheard what happened and wanted to see the fight, either to cheer on one of their neighbors or to watch a small boy get beaten up. It all matters on the outcome of the match.

The results of the fight will either make life better for them, or it will make life hell. 

‘This will probably be the only time I ever wish that the gods were real.’ Hajime thinks to himself as he walks through the twists and turns of the slums of the Grand City.

The Fight

I have to win.

I don’t want to die.

The stadium is packed with so many people and they all look like a blur to Hajime. Most of them are screaming for who they want to win the fight. Some are betting on who they think will win. A small few look sad at the fight and at the people who are cheering on the fight.

The ear-splitting roar of the spectators can be heard throughout the slums and probably even in the nice part of the city too, Hajime thinks to himself.

Hajime looks through the crowd trying to find the boy from yesterday. It's not like Hajime wants to see him, it’s just that it would be nice to see a friendly face and to know that someone he knows is in the crowd would cheer for him.

Suddenly Hajime’s eyes catch light brown hair. In the direct sunlight, the boy's hair looks like it could be gold, almost.

The ref for the fight walks up to Hajime with a scared look on his face.

“Now kid, don’t hurt your opponent. If you do I have no way of paying back my debt! So please throw the fight!” The man then walks away, preparing for the fight.

“ARE YOU READY?!!!” the ref shouts over the crowd somehow “HERE ARE THE RULES! WHOEVER FALLS TO THE GROUND AND CAN’T GET UP IS THE LOSER! NO WEAPONS ARE ALLOWED! AND YOU CAN’T GIVE UP! FIGHTERS, GET READY!” Hajime walks to the center of the match, face to face with his opponent. “HERE IS THE CHALLENGER! IWAIZUMI HAJIME!” Half of the crowd cheers and the other half boos. “THE OTHER CHALLENGER IS NOBUTERU IRHATA!” ‘So that's his name’ Hajime thinks to himself.

“You ready little kid?” Nobuteru whispers in Hajime's ear.

“I’m ready to fuck up your ugly face.”

“READY! ONE! TWO! THREE! START!!”

Without hesitation, Nobuteru swings the first punch towards Hajime's face. Hajime is unable to dodge in time, and Nobuteru fist connects with his face with a loud smack. It seems like for a moment everyone watching was silent. It feels like everyone in the city was silent.

Hajime tastes metallic, coppery blood in his mouth. Not wanting to swallow it, Hajime stands up and spits towards his opponent. 

Trying to get the upper hand, Hajime runs towards Nobuteru, making it look like he was going to attack from the right when instead he planned to attack from the left. Unfortunately for Hajime, Nobuteru saw through it and dodged. With all the momentum Hajime falls flat on his face.

“Give up kid! You are never going to win!” Nobuteru jeers while kicking Hajime in the chest.

‘Fuck, I don’t think I can do this!” Hajime thinks to himself.

Nobuteru stops kicking momentarily.

Not knowing what came over him, Hajime grabs at Nobuteru’s ankles to pull him down.

Nobuteru lets out a small scream as he falls to the ground.

Hajime gets on top of the large man and starts to punch his face over and over again.

Hajime feels the crunch of Nobuteru’s nose.

Blood is running down his face.

Blood. There is so much blood.

Hajime feels Nobuteru’s teeth cave in and break.

Not all the blood is Nobuteru’s. Some of it is from Hajime’s own shattered knuckles.

Seeing Nobuteru panting for breath Hajime stops his assault of punches.

“You ready to give up!?” Hajime asks feeling a new power surge through him. He feels invincible. He feels as if he could win the fight.

Hajime gets up and off of Nobuteru and walks around his beaten body. 

Hajime stops at the man’s groin and steps directly on it with all of his weight.

Nobuteru screams at the top of his lungs as his groin screams in pain.

Hajime kicks and stomps till Nobuteru looks like he is on the brink of passing out due to the pain.

Nobuteru tries to stand but quickly doubles over in pain, unable to move.

“IWAZUMI HAJIME IS THE WINNER OF THE FIGHT!” The ref shouts.

Most of the audience is left in shock that a small, eleven-year-old boy from the slums beat one of the most powerful men in the slums and the greater city combined. Most people look upset, either because now they need to figure out another way to make a living, or because they wasted most of their money betting on Nobuteru.

Hajime looks throughout the stadium trying to find the strange boy again but he seems to be gone. 

“HAJIME!” Anaya cries out.

Anaya runs towards Hajime and hugs him tightly.

“Don’t worry mom; he won’t bother us again. Do you remember? He now has to give us everything he owns! All his land! All his money! All his animals! Everything!”

 

 

 

 

That night Hajime slept like a log.

Dreams are always weird. No matter what you do, they happen. Sometimes they can tell the future and other times they make no sense. This dream makes no sense.

The strange boy from the temple is there, but he looks older.

“You did well,” he says. He has a permanent light surrounding him; it makes him look almost like a god.

“Who are you?” Hajime asks, not caring for formalities.

“I am Oikawa Tooru, and you will be my king.”

“Wait. You want me to believe that you are the God Oikawa? The God of Victory? What type of cactus juice have you drunk?”

“Hajime-chan, if you follow me, you will be the greatest man alive. You will be the king of the great lands. You will control the desert in the north, the flat lands in the east, and the mountains and forests in the south and west. Do you want this power?” Oikawa asks.

“Do I want the power? I honestly don’t know. All I know is following you would be the right choice. Whether you are who you say you are.”

“All right.”

Oikawa turns back into a child.

He comes close to Hajime and places a soft kiss on his lips.

“Why did you do that?” Hajime asks flustered.

“That was our contract. You are now forever blessed by me. You will be my king.”


	2. Wisdom and Death

“Nekomata-sensei,” I say as I rush to my master's side.

“Kuroo” Sensei's weak voice is the only thing that could be heard in the tent. There are only a few trusted people by my master's side. There is his only son, a boy who tries to do the right thing, but usually fails. There is also an old man I have never seen before. “Son, when I die you will get all of my earthly possessions. All, except for the people who work for me. They will all be free. Kuroo, as my last command you must find King Iwazumi and work for him. I want you to be the best warrior that he has ever seen. That is my last-”

Before Nekomata finishes, all the light fades from his eyes.

I’m used to seeing people die. It often happens when your job is to fight for money, but never before have I seen someone die like this. No blood or guts are spilling out from his stomach. All that's there is a body with no soul.

The small tent suddenly feels much smaller.

Nekomata can’t die.

He still has so much to teach me.

I need to learn.

Even though we are not related he treated me as his son.

“Father? Please, no father!” Nekomata’s son cries out.

Now there are three living people and one dead body.

“So what are you going to do with your life now?” The old man whose name I do not know asks me.

“Who are you?” I ask, ignoring his question.

“Just an old friend of Nekomata. Back in the day, we had a legendary rivalry and somehow along the way we became friends.”

I look at the old man. He seems to be in good shape for someone who had to have been older than seventy. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“And neither did you,” The old man snaps back.

After a short pause, I say “I guess I will travel around and do what my master wants me to do.”

“Just remember to take your time,” The old man says walking out of the tent.

“Wait!” I say running out of the tent after him.

The cold night air drags my hair around, momentarily covering both of my eyes.

I look around to try to find the old man, but he is nowhere to be seen. I look up and see a single crow fly off towards the rising moon.

“Where the hell did that old man go?” I whisper to myself.

Not wanting to see my master's dead body I walk away. I don’t have an idea of where I am going, and all I know is that I want to get away. Without thinking I walk in the direction that the crow flew.

Day after day.

Walking.

Walking from the outer edges of one of the many forests to the flatlands.

Occasionally seeing small clusters of houses. On rare occasions, I see a village. Everyone is nice. Everyone is suspicious of me. A swordsman with no master. They probably think I will attack them. That is most likely why they gave me things for free.

Some nights I sleep on roads with only my clothing protecting me from the elements. On other nights families have welcomed me into their homes. One house even offered to let me work for them. I had to say no though. I have to fulfill my master's last wish, eventually.

The flat lands all look the same.

The most significant change is when there is occasionally a tree or, when the area gets wet, the fields fill up with water. Year round the weather in the flatlands stays the same. Hot season everywhere else? Permanent slight rain. Cold season anywhere else? Permanent mild rain. It always looks gray and gloomy.

I think the flatlands should be renamed the ‘always about to rain on you’ lands. That would be just as accurate as the flatlands.

Even though I spent my childhood in the flatlands, I don't remember much about it. Probably because the area looks the same no matter where you go.

Before Nekomata took me in, I was living in the flatlands with my mom, dad, and a few younger siblings. I don’t remember their names. When I left, I was too young to remember anyone's name. Hell, I don’t even know what my parents named me. That name has never been important to me, so I see no reason as to why I should remember it. So I gave myself my name, a cool name, the most fantastic name to ever exist.

Up in the distance, I see a strange thing for the flatlands. A large group of people gathering outside one of the small villages. I see a group of six, maybe seven people surrounding one kid. He isn’t a child, but he looks too young to be a man.

I walk closer trying not to seem suspicious. Well, no matter what I do I would look suspicious. Who wouldn’t look suspicious when you are the only other person around, and the closest house is at least a day's walk away?

Being the calm professional that I am, I start to walk closer to the group of people. From far away I couldn’t see some of their faces clearly, but now… wow. The group of seven men is all beautiful. I mean, hot damn! No one should be that hot. It is strange to see a group of seven hot men but, oh well, I am not the type to complain.

One of them has unnatural hair color. Usually, when people have strange hair color they are either super rich and can afford it, or they are blessed by a god. According to legends, when you are blessed by a god something about you changes.

The closer and closer I get to the group of seven men, the more I become attracted to them. Why are they so attractive?

I overhear what the attractive men are saying to the kid in the middle.

“Come on. Stop being so boring and have fun with us!” One of the attractive men says.

“Terushima! Just leave me alone! I don’t want to deal with your bullshit!”

Terushima seemed slightly taken aback by what the boy said, but continued with his incessant nagging.

After watching for awhile, I started to side with the kid. I mean he seemed small and powerless. He looks like he couldn’t even carry a stack of carrots. The group of men doesn't appear to understand that he doesn’t want to play, whatever that means.

“Come on! You even did it with Chibi-chan! What's the difference between us?”

“One: I like Shouyou. Two: you would lose...I have never lost, and you know that ” The boy says, looking Terushima directly in the eye.

Before Terushima gets the chance to answer, I rush in.

I have had a lot of good ideas and a few bad ideas, and I have no clue whether this is a good idea or bad. It must be a good idea because I have been raised to help people who look like they need help. It is just part of my charm. This is also a terrible choice because, well, fighting seven hot guys when I am only one guy is not the best idea.

I run at the one named Terushima, the hottest one. I take my sword out of its casing and take a swing at the man.

He dodges with a surprised look on his face. He motions his head telling the other six men to stand down.

“Leave the kid alone,” I say pointing my sword at Terushima.

“Why do you attack me, when you know nothing about me? Or him? Or what we were doing?”

“I was watching you from far away, and it was clear that he is uncomfortable around you.”

“I have a name,” The small boy says, annoyed.

Ignoring what the boy said I run towards Terushima again. This time he has a thick wooden sword in hand. He matches my blows.

No matter what I do to try to hit the man, he always blocks. A few times he even forced me to be on defense. This Terushima guy is a fantastic swordsman.

I feel a slight trickle of sweat roll down my forehead as we fight.

Finally, after several minutes of fighting, my sword scratches his face. It causes a small scratch on his cheek. There isn't a lot of blood, just a tiny trickle of red coming down his face.

When Terushima notices the small scratch, he stops.

He just stands there with his sword in hand and a shocked look on his face.

“You win,” he says walking away with his group of men.

In the grand scheme of things that was very weird. I thought that when I hurt him, he would be pissed off and attack me. Maybe people that live in this part of the flatlands always give up on fights when they get hurt?

I turn towards the boy, only now noticing how he looks. His hair is two different colors. The top is dark brown, almost black, and the rest of his shoulder-length hair is blonde. He has enormous golden eyes that look like they are always thinking and coming up with plans. The most startling thing is what he is wearing. He is wearing several layers of colorful silk, with reds and oranges and yellows. It is tightened around his waist with a sash, and it also looks like it is too big around his shoulders and that it may fall off. Overall this boy looks otherworldly.

“Thanks for savin’ me,” He says with no emotion on his face matching how he speaks.

“You're welcome,” I say with a bright smile “My name is Kuroo Tetsurou. It’s a pleasure to meet you…and um-uh what's your name?” I haven’t acted this awkward since I first learned about-you know what I don’t need to think about that right now.

“I already told you my name, but you were being stupid and chose to fight,” The small boy looks up at me with a calculating look in his eyes.

“Okay...well then, I’ll be off.”

I continue to walk the way I was headed before I got sidetracked with, whatever I just did.

After ten minutes of walking, I notice that the colorfully dressed boy is following me. He probably thinks he is good at hiding and that I probably wouldn’t notice him, but when you are covered in bright colors, and everything that surrounds you is gray, dull colors, people see. He follows me throughout the day.

No matter where I go, he is a few steps away.

Around the time the sun's setting I've had enough.

“Hey kid why are you following me?” I turn around to face the boy.

“Don’t call me kid” He grumbles out.

“Then, why the hell are you following me?”

He stays silent looking up at me as if all he needs to do look cute and vulnerable to get me to do what he wants.

“My name.”

“What about your name?”

“I never told you my name.”

Is that all he wants? That can’t be it. Why else would he follow me for five hours?

“Kenma,” He says with a slight blush.

“Come on. You came all this way to tell me your name, and you don’t even give me your full name.”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

I put my hand on top of his head and messes up his straight hair. “Kenma, I have seen a lot of shit. Nothing surprises me anymore.”

“Even if I was a god?”

“WAIT! You're a god! That is so fucking cool! Which god are you? Can you bless me?” I say with pure excitement. It has been a while since I last let myself feel this kind of happiness, I haven’t felt this way since master died.

“I never said I was a god.”

“But why else would you say something like that?”

Kenma takes a deep breath and says “For all you know I could be the God of Agriculture.”

“That is fine! Better than fine! Perfect!”

“Kozume. My last name is Kozume.”

“You mean the God of Battle strategy?” I look down at him to see him nod “Holy fuck! That is so fucking cool!”

Never before in my twenty-four years of life did I think I would be able to meet a god. Let alone the God of Battle strategy! Wow, I bet Nekomata would be proud of me today. I did what he taught me to do, fight to protect people, and because of that, I meet a god!

“Earlier you said you wanted my blessing. If that is true give me three good reasons why.” Kenma states.

Suddenly I feel slightly ashamed of myself. What position am I in to tell a god that I want something? If he wanted to, he could make me desire purely because I asked for his blessing. But instead of him being pissed off at me, he is still offering me his blessing.

“Um, One reason is that since I started to fight, I have always fought for the weak”

“That's what they all say.”

The world around me suddenly changes from an overcast day to pitch black with a single light. I look swords the light not knowing what the light is. I control my fear of not knowing where I am and continue to tell Kenma why I should have his blessing.

It is easy giving the god the second reason why I want to get his blessing. But the third goal is the hardest. Just saying that I have a good sense of justice isn’t enough, and I said that for my first reason. And I can’t say that I would do whatever Kenma states because that is my second reason.

“Have you given up?” The god's voices sound like it is coming from the darkness all around me.

“No. The third reason,” I say with all the courage I can muster “is because… Is because… I can be a friend” I say without thinking.

“Hmm. A friend?”

The glowing light takes the shape of Kenma and walks toward me. Never in my whole life have seen such beauty. Never in my life have I seen someone look at me the way the God of Battle Strategy is staring at me right now. He seems happy. He looks relieved.

He stops walking when he is face to face with me. He grabs my face lightly with his two hands and comes even closer.

“Are you sure you want my blessing? I will follow you until you uphold your master's last wish. You will still have my blessing, but I won't be there. Are you sure you want my blessing? Are you sure you want to be my friend?”

I am close enough to the god that I can see light freckles covering his nose and under eyes.

I nod and close my eyes.

Suddenly I feel soft lips on mine.

I can feel his power become one with mine.

I feel as if I can do anything with him by my side.


	3. Three Gods

Most gods never have to think about their death.

Hell, most gods forget they can “die.” I forgot I could “die” until I did.

Gods can’t die they can be forgotten and fade away. Other times we are forced to either spend 400 years with Jozenji, a crazy group of gods of chaos and a few Incubai, or a god can live out life as a human, maybe a demigod if they are lucky. Only the foolish chose Jozenji. 

So far I have spent twenty-two years as a human and slowly getting used to it.

In the beginning, I had no clue what I could do. I mean, I’ve spent my whole life until then as a god.

But now I am a pro at being human!

I haven't forgotten to sleep or eat since I was eighteen. I think I’m doing well as a human.

Although I do miss being a god. And being able to do whatever I want. And all the other gods.

Okay. I miss being a god!

Yeah, I wasn’t the most well-known god, but damn it I love being a God of the Sun. I miss the permanent warmth of the sun. I also miss my little sister! 

The only good thing about being human is that I’m not alone.

There are two other gods living with me. Tsukishima Kei and Yamaguchi Tadashi. 

When the two are apart, Kei is an ass. When the two are together everything is fine. When they are apart, I’m amazed that Kei hasn’t tried to kill me yet. Tadashi is beautiful no matter what situation he's in. Sometimes he gets super nervous and becomes almost useless, but other times he is one the most powerful gods I’ve meet.

“Kei, Tadashi,” I say to the both of them while planting our next crop. “I have an idea!”

“No” Kei immediately says.

We don’t live near any large cities, so we have to do everything! Every season we plant new crops, and then sell what we can in a market that is three days away! I love the market there! It is tiny. On a good day, about one hundred people go through! Another reason why I love the market is that I can listen to other people's tales of other cities and markets!

“You didn’t even let me say what my idea is!” 

“I don’t need to hear it. I already know it is dumb.”

“Kei, come on. Let's listen to what Shouyou has to say.”

“Thank you, Tadashi! I want to be a hero!”

Suddenly the quiet plains seem silent. No bugs or bids are making music. No wind is rushing through trees. Nothing. 

“WHAT?!” Kei and Tadashi scream in unison.

“Are you fucking crazy?! If we do that we could die! Again! And that we would have no choice but to spend four hundred years with Jozenji!” Tsukki rants while pacing back and forth. “And I know that you can handle being around them, but not me! I refuse to spend even one mortal year with them!”

“But-” I start to say only to be interrupted by Kei continuing to rant.

Unable to keep my cool we start yelling back and forth, with Tadashi saying nothing. Tadashi often stays out of our arguments, because he is usually the one that has to break them up.

“Shouyou, Kei!” Tadashi says once there is a break in our yelling “Why don’t you two stop yelling at each other and listen? K? So Shouyou, why do you want to be a hero?”

“I want to, feel important again! I want to try to feel the same as when we were gods!” I choke out feeling a tremendous weight come off my shoulders.

Clouds start to gather above warning us of incoming rain. Even though I am, well, was a sun god I love when it rains. The feeling of cold water on my face, the sun no longer judging me for leaving.

“You want to feel important?! IS THAT IT!?” Tsukki scoffs looking down at me. The weight that had disappeared suddenly came back. A small rain starts to fall over us in the field.

“YES! NO! KIND OF! MAYBE!” I scream back “maybe I just miss the feeling of adventure; maybe I miss people looking up to me, maybe I miss my friends!”

It was silent for a second; even the rain seemed to stop.

Kei looked at me again. “Okay fine. Lets pack. Be ready by sunrise.”


	4. 14 Years

Fourteen years.

I have been living with an annoying god for fourteen years.

I have ask kindly and rudely, no matter what I try he never leave me alone.

Wherever I go, he’s close by. In my bedchamber sleeping. He is sitting somewhere in the room. Giving a speech in front of my citizens. He’s hiding in the crowd. Even if I am in the middle of a political meeting with only closest advisors, he’s there sitting at the meeting even though he isn’t an advisor.

Most of the staff believes that we are lovers. Everyone else thinks that he is a prince from across the sea, and is here to help. Even though I have everything under control. 

Although I do owe everything thing to Oikawa. Without him, I wouldn’t have made it this far. I doubt I would be king. I suspect I would have been able to get out of poverty. I doubt I would have won the fight. Without him I would still be living on the streets, fighting to keep my mother safe. Fighting to get money. Fighting for a life that would never be mine without Oikawa.

Because of Oikawa, I am where I am today. He has helped through tough times. He helped me win against Nobeterou. He helped me grieve my mother when she died five years ago. He helped me become the next king. Without his help, I would still be where I am today, but he just gave me extra good luck.

So much good luck that people believe that I am blessed by a god.

They're not wrong. Oikawa Tooru is the God of Victory. And I do have his blessing. And Oikawa is always with me. We have a contract.

Because of this, some people have started to call me Iwaizumi the Victorious. With the title also comes people who want to prove it wrong.

Once a week I allow people to challenge me to a fight so they can try to prove that I’m not unbeatable. No one has won against me yet. In his debt, I will never lose a fight. Even if I tell him to go away, blessing will still be there. It's a win-win for everyone. 

Right now just happens to be one of those lucky times that the people of the city are allowed to fight me. And of course, Oikawa is there with me.

It always amazes me how willing some people are to fight. To watch someone is brought to their knees and I have a fight with swords or one with swords. Even though that's where I come from it still feels barbaric to me. Fighting reminds me of a time before I became the King before I could take control of my life.

Only a few people are allowed to fight me during this time. Today there are a total of four people here to fight.

One man is tall with skin kissed by the sun. His eyes look almost all black except for the white parts of his eyes. The man is at least a head taller than me. With thick muscles roping around his neck and chest. In a fight aiming for his legs would be the best way to get him unbalanced and make him fall. With his unproportional body, he should be easy to topple over.

The next man does not look like he is from the desert. His skin is a medium shade of red, and he seems uncomfortable walking on sand. His hair is a light shade of brown that isn't often seen in this part of the world. I guess that he’s either from across the sea, or he is from deep in the mountains. He most likely doesn’t know our form of fighting so that will put him at a disadvantage.

The third fighter is a woman that works inside the palace. She has tanned skin and dark hair cut so close to her head, she almost doesn’t have hair. She is one of the guards that I trust with my life. She often comes here for a fight to see if she is getting stronger or not. I respect her for constantly getting better. Because we have continuously fought I know her weak points. Her eyes are susceptible to light, so as a trick move I could get my back to the sun forcing her to fight me head on and with her eyes towards the light.

My fourth opponent is a boy who looks to be around age nineteen. With black hair covering parts of his face, and intense blue eyes. Never in my life have I seen eyes that bright, that blue, that intense. He is slightly taller than me. Looking at him I can’t see any glaring weaknesses. He looks like he is fast.

A tap on my shoulder distracts me.

“He seems familiar” Oikawa whispers to me.

I don’t know what to do with the information that he gave me. Does that mean the kids a god? Or maybe he often prays at the temple. 

The first three fights al go by swiftly. All of them being knocked down or knocked out. I don’t know if the reason why I won is that of Oikawa or I it is because of my strength. Part of me wants to know, but the other half doesn’t. I don’t want to know if everything I am is because of Oikawa.

The last fight was harder than the other three.

The kid is fast. It’s hard to keep up with his movements. But after about three minutes of fighting, I see his pattern. And catch him at his weakest point.

The rest of the day is filled with mundane things. Meeting leaders of villages that I rule. Going over the amount of taxes the people have paid. Large dinner with pompous rich people who think they can get me to marry either their son or daughter. Just a normal day.

Finally making it back to my chamber I lay on my back on the bed. 

I hear the door open. I don’t look up at who it is because I already know. The maids don’t enter my chamber without knocking. And if it were someone of political importance they would have an entourage with them. So that leaves one person. Oikawa.

The bed shifts and his knee is in the peripheral view.

“What did you mean earlier?” I ask.

“I don’t know. I remember him from somewhere, long ago.”

“Is he a god.”

“No. Gods give off an aura that tells other gods, ‘hey look at me I’m the same as you.’ And that kid didn’t have that type of aura. But his soul is old, ancient.”

I sit up to look at Oikawa. Over the years he has grown with me. When I was a kid, he was a kid. Now that I’m an adult, he is too. His hair is a beautiful shade of brown. His eyes a few shades darker. He is also taller than, which can get annoying. If I didn’t know any better, I would think he looks like a god.

“Why do you stay with me?” I asked looking him in the eye. 

His face tightens slightly and smiles “Because you're fun to be around Iaw-chan.”

“Don’t lie to me. I know that smile.”

“I’ll tell you one day Hajime. Go to sleep; you need it. I don’t want to be around a group tomorrow.”


	5. Owls and Death

Everything was supposed to be perfect.

In one month I would marry the man of my dreams.

It would be the most significant event in the village.

Even people from neighbouring villages wanted to be invited.

We would be happy together. Till death do us part.

We planned our wedding to be on the longest day of the year. 

We would kiss for the first time as husbands right when the sun would set.

Both of our parents would be there crying with happiness.

We would enter our new house together.

There would be pelts on the ground.

And a fire in one corner.

Then we would consummate our marriage.

We would become one.

But, plans are not always set in stone.

Two weeks ago both of my parents got a sickness. I don’t know which one.

Four days ago they both died.

This sickness has been travelling throughout the small villages near the forest.

Every day I pray to the God of the forest that surrounds our village. Praying that this sickness will go away. Praying that my love and his family does not contract this sickness. But it seems like praying to the great owl won’t bring anyone back from the dead.

His parents died four days ago. They fought hard and strong, but the sickness was stronger. I wish I could have called them mom and dad, but now that fantasy will never happen.

None of my dreams will happen.

He is laying down in front of me. His face towards the ceiling. Eyes clouded over. A light layer of sweat all over his face. 

“Keji,” he whispers. His once smooth voice now sounds like he has never spoken.

“What is it, love?”

“Can you play some music? I want that to be the last thing I hear is your music?” He rasps.

“You won’t die,” I say knowing it was a lie.

Slowly standing hoping that my legs don't buckle on me. I grab my shamisen, a four-string instrument, and sit down next to him again. 

I play until my fingers bleed.

I play long after he dies.

I play until I black out.

I wake during the night.

Looking at his body, he’s been dead bead for at least four hours.

The smell of urine and feces permeate throughout the hut.

His face permanently stuck between the serenity of death and the pain of the sickness.

“Goodbye, my love,” I whisper looking down at him.

Walking out of the hut I can see the moon waning.

There is a thick fog clinging to the ground.

All the fires are out.

No one is awake.

Still holding my shamisen, I walk into the forest.

It is said that on either a full moon or new moon, you can find the God of Owls and ask him to kill someone, even yourself.

I have nothing left to live for.

I want to be with my loved ones.

The tall tree of the forest makes everything seem small.

The sound of night animals keeps the night from being deathly silent. 

Walking up to a statue of an owl, only one hundred steps away from the entrance of the forest, I pause.

In all my years of living here, I’ve never seen this one before.

It’s made out of wood instead of stone.

The owl is as large as me.

The owl is covered in moss.

It looks like it is rotting from the inside.

The carving is rudimentary. Nothing like the statues that the village has.

I look up to see a pair of bright yellow eyes staring at me.

 

The eyes are so bright. So intense.

“Are you there?” I ask the eyes. “I know that it is neither a full moon or a new moon, but I do have a request.” The yellow eyes continue to stare me down. “I have lost everyone I love and everyone I care about. My parents were killed by a sickness. My love was recently killed by the same sickness that took my parents, and his parents too. I have no one left. I ask you, the God of this forest, The great God of Owls, please let me join them.”

A few tears roll down my face; I don’t wipe them away.

The yellow eyes turn to the side. For a second the bright eyes disappear.

For one second, the entire forest seems to disappear. 

Everything pitch black.

No sound.

The eyes reappear in front of me.

I jump back slightly not expecting the god to be in front of me.

I can feel the heat coming off of the god.

The god is taller than me.

He seems to be very muscular.

Even with him standing close to me, all I can see is his eyes.

Bright gold.

He smells like the forest when it rains.

Dirt, but clean at the same time.

“Please kill me god,” I plea looking straight into the god's golden eyes.

“No,” The god has a deep masculine voice that seems to boom throughout the forest.

“Why?” I can taste my tears as they fall from my eyes. 

I don’t care that I look like a fool in front of a powerful god.

“You still have light in your eyes; you can still fight.”

The god reaches out with one of his hands for me to take.

Does he want to go with him?

I look down at his massive hand then take it on my own.

His demeanour changes immediately.

Instead of being a stern god, he relaxes.

His shoulders slump forward slightly.

I don’t know how, but I can see him clearly, even though it is before sunrise and neither of us has a light.

He is taller than me by at least half a head.

His hair stands up and is black and white, or maybe it is grey and white.

“What should I call you?”

“Bokuto Koutarou. What’s your name?” He asks lightly.

“Akaashi Keiji”

 

The god lightly hums a tune that I think would be beautiful to play on my smasin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that it took me so long to get this chapter out, I had a lot of problems going on at the time. I hope you all understand.

**Author's Note:**

> There will be more chapters added when I am done with them. It will take me a while to write them, so please do not expect this to be frequently updated. 
> 
> I hope that you had fun reading this! See you next time!


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